day 42 = lazy day pasta

sarah:
we have been busy lately so ended up having a lazy day. at trader joe's last week we picked up some cans of tomatoes and mini-ravioli. i thought it was just ok, by charley liked it. here's what i did:

combine in a large soup pot & simmer for 3 hrs:
- 2 14oz cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
- 1/2 jar fire roasted yellow and red peppers
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 7 cloves garlic, diced
- handful of fresh basil, chopped
- 1 1/2 jalapeno, chopped
- 2 chicken sausages, cases removed and crumbled
- 3 tbsp dried basil
- 3 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp paprika

when sauce is ready, boil water and add mini-raviolis. cook for 16 mins.

plate pasta with sauce and sprinkle with feta cheese and fresh basil.

charley:
it had wonderful balance of tastes and i felt it had a good flavor.  a little spicy with good texture.  since pasta can be prepared in so many different ways it always comes down to personal preference.  for me this was a good meal!

enjoy!

day 41 = gotta have guacamole

sarah:
i hate to admit, but after 3 years of knowing each other, charley and i had our first sit down dinner together at our dining room table. we always eat in front of the tv and hopefully this marks a new chapter in our lives.

anyway, i cooked a chicken we picked up at trader joe's and made a side of guacamole. charley has recently started eating guacamole which is terrific for me. i thought i picked up a lime and jalapeno peppers, but apparently did not so i had to improvise. here's what i did:

mix/smash together in a bowl
- 1/4 medium onion, diced
- 1 roma tomato, diced (sprinkle with salt before dicing)
- 3 medium sized avocados
- a few sprigs basil, cut into small strips
- 1/2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large pinches ghost pepper sea salt
- additional salt, as needed

best if refrigerate at least 1/2 hour before eating!

charley:
awesome, awesome, awesome. best i ever had and i am not a guacamole fan.

(sorry, this picture is terrible because it was taken on my blackberry. we haven't unpacked the camera battery charger).

enjoy!

day 33 = dinner for sarah

sarah:
i had to make dinner for myself tonight. so i went to the store totally unsure of what to buy, and decided i'd make something out of what i could find on sale. ribs and cauliflower it is! the beef ribs were $1.99/lb and the cauliflower was $1.00/lb. done. then i felt i needed some heat so i bought serrano peppers. here's what i did:

make the ribs:
1) turn the oven to 350
2) trim the beef ribs to get rid of the excess fat
3) sprinkle any combo of spices all over the ribs. i did 3 kinds:
        i. montreal steak seasoning, alaea salt & pepper
        ii. spanish paprika, alaea salt & pepper
        iii. curry powder, red pepper flakes, alaea salt & pepper
4) put in oven and cook for 1 hr
5) pull ribs out and baste with bbq sauce (i use jack daniels original)
6) return to oven and cook for another 1/2 hr

make the cauliflower:
1) heat a good amount of extra-virgin olive oil in a 4qt dutch oven on med heat
2) add chopped garlic and let infuse -- make sure it does not burn
3) add a chopped serrano pepper, stir
4) when the garlic is starting to turn color, add 1/4 large onion
5) add turmeric, oriental mustard, ground ginger, cumin, alaea salt & pepper
6) stir real good and let cook for about 7 mins
7) add cauliflower florets and 1/2 cup water, bring to boil
8) once boiling, reduce heat to simmer and let sit until ribs are ready!

make the peppers:
1) heat a good amount of extra-virgin olive oil in a pan on med heat
2) add chopped garlic and let infuse -- make sure it does not burn
3) add whole serrano peppers
4) add garlic powder and sea salt
5) let sit (do not stir) on low heat until on side begins to char
6) flip over and repeat on other side until ribs are ready!


well, i love peppers cooked in this way, but these were really hot! so hot in fact i am leaving them aside to chop up into smaller pieces for a later meal. the cauliflower also took on some of the intense heat, but it was fantastic! i couldn't believe how much i liked it. ribs are always a favorite of mine* -- and so easy!!

*my favorite way of making ribs is using chinese-five-spice, but these were descent also. i think i liked the curry powder ones the best.

in case you are wondering, i picked up the alaea (clay) salt at a local farmers market. it is supposed to keep the juices in your food. it's red so it also adds a little unique touch. have a look:

enjoy!

day 29 = you asked for it greek pasta salad!

sarah:
i made this a few months ago for a bbq and it went over so well it was requested again for tomorrow's labor day party. nancy, this one's for you -- my secret is now yours!

i doubled the recipe and the total cost today (without the dressing ingredients because i had them on-hand) was $18.71.  

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon white sugar
• 12 oz rotini pasta, cooked
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 diced red bell pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped green onions
• 1 (4 ounce) can whole black olives
• 3/4 cup sliced pepperoni sausage, cut into strips
• 1/2 jar pepperoncini
• 1 head broccoli

in a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. add remaining ingredients. toss until evenly coated. cover, and chill overnight.

(if you don't like a lot of dressing and want to see what it tastes like first, reserve 1/2 to 1/4 for later use. you can pour it over the pasta salad the next day or keep it for your dinner salad!)

don't be fooled. it won't taste very well the day you make it. it really needs to marinate overnight to get the full effect.

charley:

if you are looking for something lite and refreshing i would highly recommend this.  it is perfect for a bbq or picnic.

enjoy!

day 26 = why not combine pasta ponza and pasta primavera?

since we've been back from italy, i have been craving pasta. we have a lot of vegetables in the house today, but not really much else. i wanted to make something with an olive oil sauce, but it's surprisingly been hard to find a recipe among my collection. instead, i am combining two recipes from Giada de Laurentiis: pasta ponza (in the "giada at home" cookbook) and pasta primavera and giving it my little flare :)

enjoy watching the progress...

start by chopping a good amount of garlic

sprinkle salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic, and breadcrumbs on halved cherry tomatoes.

bake in 375 degree oven for 30 mins, set aside. 

 

chop vegetables into thin slices. add some italian seasoning, hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper, olive oil (a good amount), bread crumbs, and remaining garlic.

bake in 450 degree oven for 20 mins, turning.

start making your pasta (i used spaghetti). pull vegetables out of oven when finished.

mine looked like this:

plate pasta with vegetables and tomatoes. add a sprinkle of parsley and feta cheese.

mix it all together and you are all set to eat!

enjoy!

day 23 = using up the fridge caprese salad and lasagna

we are trying to eat up what's in the fridge. when i made the meatballs on day 18, i forgot to put the mozzarella in the center of them. so, i needed to do something with them today to use them up. what's better than a lasagna?

i basically scrambled in the fridge and pulled out whatever i could find. here's what i put together...

caprese salad:
1 mozzarella ball
2 small tomatoes on the vine
olive oil
salt & pepper

slice the tomatoes and mozzarella into round slices. sprinkle tomatoes with salt and pat them dry with a paper towel. layer the tomatoes and mozzarella on a plate. drizzle with olive oil. sprinkle with salt.

lasagna:
1/2 pkg lasagna noodles

freezer "stoup" bag (today's was: canned tomatoes, chopped onions, chicken broth)
feta cheese
dried oregano
dried basil
parsley
red pepper flakes
salt & pepper

freezer "stoup" leftover (today's was: noodles, pasta sauce, chicken, pancetta, peppers)
feta cheese
1 mozzarella ball, sliced
parsley

put a pot of salted water to boil. add a little olive oil and boil lasagna noodles to al dente.

put a pot with the contents of your freezer stoup bag on the stove to boil. since there was more chicken broth than tomatoes, i added a little feta cheese to thicken the sauce. sprinkle with spices to get the correct italian sauce flavoring.

defrost any leftover stoup you may have in the freezer.

put a layer of sauce on the bottom of your lasagna pan. layer with 3 pasta noodles, sauce, leftover stoup (the solid parts), feta cheese, salt & pepper. repeat layering noodles and sauce / stoup until you are finish. place the mozzarella on the top and sprinkle with parsley.

tent the lasagna with foil and bake 45 mins in 375 degree oven. remove foil and bake another 5-10 mins uncovered. cool and serve!

**if you don't know what "stoup" is, check out day 6


charley:
initially i wasn't in the mood for lasagna as i was looking forward to eating hot wings.  in the end i tried the lasagna before making my wings and ended up going back for more lasagna.  it had a good amount of heat to it which, as you know, i enjoy.  i am already looking forward to eating more of it tomorrow.  now on to my ice cream for the national ice cream day!


enjoy!

day 11 = super easy grilled cheese and tomato soup

watch it's progress...

and for the finale...



sarah:

last week i came home to a "present." charley got me a new cookbook and he's been drooling over it ever since. today i got an email from him -- this is the entirety of the email:

Soup:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
2 celery stalks
4 garlic cloves
1 carrot
2 red peppers
1 28oz can plum tomatoes in juice
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf

1 tsp spanish paprika
salt and fresh ground pepper

Grilled Cheese:

Grab bread and whatever cheese you wish! (Typically American)

ok... i think charley wants grilled cheese and tomato soup. so, i picked up the ingredients (but i grabbed cheddar cheese because i don't like american) and thought i am in for a long night. much to my surprise, this took very little time and was super easy to clean. here's what i did:

soup:

1. turn on broiler; put peppers into oven and let broil until skin blackens, turning frequently
2. meanwhile...
3. heat oil in a saucepan over med-low heat
4. chop onion, celery, and garlic; throw in saucepan and stir until softened
5. chop carrot; throw in saucepan for 1 min
6. add tomatoes with their juice, the stock, sugar, and bay leaf
7. add salt and pepper
8. bring to boil at high-heat, then turn to med-low
9. cover soup and simmer for 45 mins
10. good time to check on the peppers :) place in a ziploc or plastic bag to capture the steam and let cool (this will allow for easy peeling of the skin)
11. pull red peppers out of bag and peel off skin; discard seeds
12. add red peppers and spanish paprika to the soup
13. puree in blender
14. adjust seasoning (add lots more salt, pepper, and spanish paprika) and serve!

grilled cheese:

1. heat a saucepan on med
2. butter both sides of bread slices you are using
3. add cheese to cover one side of each sandwich
4. assemble the sandwiches
5. place in the saucepan letting each side grill and the cheese melt
6. repeat making as many sandwiches as you need!

the grilled cheese came out great! the soup is really healthy (it's all vegetables), but i didn't think it had a lot of taste. i'd bump up the vegetables some to give it more than just a tomato taste.

charley:

let me be completely honest as i was the one who requested this and yes it was mainly for the grilled cheese.  you can't go wrong with tomato soup and grilled cheese (we will be having it at our wedding) and this was no exception.  the soup was light and i could taste everything that went into it.  very tasty and was a great addition to the sandwich.  the only problem with the meal was sarah would only allow me to have one grilled cheese (has to do with her wanting me to live forever!)  in the end she did let me have half of her sandwich.

enjoy!